Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting First Lite Customer Service Experience

I am not a backpack hunter in the sense that this sub-forum is dedicated to, but I know this group of members is more focused on technical equipment, clothing and brands than other sub-forums which is why I am posting this here.

I have several pieces of First Lite's clothing and have been very pleased with them. One piece was their Kanab 2.0 pants. Unfortunately, after several years of ownership, these finally developed a tear just right of the fly (pretty tough spot for a repair) during this past hunting season. My wife was hopeful that she could repair them if she could get a piece of material to patch with. So I reached out to First Lite via email to see what they could do. I was not expecting much though, given that these pants had been discontinued for a while. But who knows, maybe they had some material on hand that would work.

Fran Magee (Customer Service Representative) responded and was very nice to deal with. Without much back and forth, she asked for my mailing address and assured me a piece of material was going in the mail the next day. I knew it would be a few days and left it at that. That was back in mid-February and I just realized a few days ago that nothing ever showed up. Responding to the same email, I asked if this went out and if she had a tracking number since I never saw anything. She said it was indeed mailed but had no idea what happened and then said she was putting another one in the mail. That piece did show up at the house yesterday. I was expecting one, maybe two 3"x3" or 4"x4" squares...what I got in the mail was a square foot of material. Now I just have to get this on the wife's "To-Do" list which may be the biggest challenge yet.

Not exactly earth shattering or a big ticket item, but it was nice to see the company respond and take care of such a minor issue in such a positive way. Being as how these pants have been discontinued for a bit, they very easily could have said "sorry, those are discontinued, but feel free to buy a pair of our current product line." It pleased me that this wasn't the tact they chose and just wanted to share with the group.

Thanks for sharing that. Good to know there are real people on the other end of the line.

I wrote and asked them questions and never heard from them. I have 4 pieces of their clothing. Kuiu answers every question the same day or the next at the latest so I pretty much have converted to them.

My son had a zipper break on a pair of First Lite pants. He took some pictures and e-mailed the company. First Lite exchanged the pants with a new pair within the week. Seemed like fair service.

i worte the copany off as soon as Rinella bought it.

Why?

I got rid of all my FL stuff after I figured out it isn’t very durable.

The FL gear I have is excellent and have a ridiculously wide comfortable temp range and are very light.

Their zippers do suck though and their pine/green color seems to get stained super easily with grease - like it’s a magnet for grease stains. They’re not very thorn resistant either.

I ripped the schidt out of a brand new Uncompargerambhbvffa jacket trying to put my hands into the pockets with a pack on. They replaced it without any drama.

I have a far amount of their product. It’s good fair gear if bought on sale. A season or two of hard hunting and it will need replacement.

I tried to order an Uncomphagre Puffy in ASAT. they had none available and sent out another color, kinda a coffee colored brown. I never opened the little bag it came in. Whatever was in there didn/t have enough insulation in it to keep a bird warm. Sent it back. Designer outfits to be warn around town or trips to Cabela/s for weddings.

Based on your experience of not wearing it?

I have a few pieces of FL and like it. Never needed to contact customer service for a return, but a few years back, before I owned any FL, I called to ask questions and was impressed with people I talked with.

They knew the product and it was like having a casual conversation. Not like calling some places where the person on the other end reads the product description to you and you can tell they have no idea what they sell.

Plumdog,

You really don't know anything. The "Puffy" is a very warm coat. Its insulation puffs right back after the jacket is unpacked. With a hoody underneath and Puffy for outside I have pretty much handled some pretty tough Co conditions.

Of course living in Florida you would know what cold is......


Lefty

You should have tried it. The Uncompaghre is very warm. Best puffy I've owned in fact.

I like the Uncomphagre so much that I have 3 of them

The Uncomphagre vest is a vital part of my layering system.

Hey Lefty, I lived in Colorado From 1965 to 2020 and hunted elk every one of those years. Got cold a couple times too.

I have a pair of insulated pants I can zip over others when I am sitting/glassing and a jacket. I have been very happy with them for late season use in MT.

+1